The facultative blowfly species, Lucilia sericata (Meigen) and Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) largely handicap sheep production practices, resulting in immense economic devastation. Through simultaneous mechanical and chemical activity, the larvae largely cause physical damage to the wool and meat. Over the past few decades, myiasis has predominantly been controlled with the use of various synthetic chemicals, in addition to various sheep husbandry practices. However, an increased development of chemical resistance has been noted. With this, the aim of the study was to evaluate and compare various plant extracts for the potential use in the management of Lucilia spp. Through use of inverted funnel choice tests, the repellent action of the plant extracts was assessed. With a commercial citronella spray employed in the control, similarly high repellency was observed with treatments of Zanthoxylum sp. and Eucalyptus camaldulensis. With a minimum of 80 % pesticidal action required for test solutions to be considered successful, both plant extracts implicated potential action against the flies. The phytochemical secondary metabolic properties of the plant extracts were analysed with thin layer chromatography (TLC). Qualitative TLC was employed to differentiate the organic compound profiles of each plant extract, while various spray reagents were utilised to identify specific properties of various chemical groups. Those possibly contributing to the repellent results obtained included triterpenoids, alkaloids, essential oils, coumarin drugs, saponin drugs and flavonoids. With positive management potential and a basic phytochemical evaluation, further investigation into the use of these plant extracts against Lucilia spp. is advised.
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25 April 2019
Evaluation and Comparison of Various Plant Extracts as Repellents Against Lucilia spp.
B.J. Kay,
V.R. Swart,
E. van der Watt
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African Entomology
Vol. 27 • No. 1
March 2019
Vol. 27 • No. 1
March 2019
blowflies
botanical
cutaneous myiasis
Lucilia spp.
phytochemical
secondary metabolic products
thin layer chromatography